Team Steel: Extreme!
by Draka Dracula
Summary: Team Steel: Extreme! A new Max Steel series. Team Steel welcomes in its newest member, Titaina Steel!
1. Laura's Awakening

Team Steel: Extreme!  
Chapter 1: Laura's Awakening 

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By: [Jo Ann/Titaina Steel][1]

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Disclaimer: Max Steel and other characters belong to Mattel, Sony, KidsWB, and others. I'll tell you when and who any of my characters are.

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The begining of a new Max Steel series: Team Steel: Extreme!

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Laura Chen's "Welcome Home" party was well underway at Josh McGrath's beach house. Berto --Dr. Reberto Martinez-- was there, along with Josh's adoptive father, Jefferson Smith. In fact, Laura noted, there was only one person that was _not_ present at the party.

_I wonder were Max is..._ she thought. _Probibly on some mission or another._

"What's wrong, Laura?" Josh asked.

"Oh," she answered, sighing, "just a little disappointed that Max isn't here." At the look he gave her, she added, "Strictly as a friend, of course."

"Of course," Josh tried to smile.

"Don't be jealous," Laura smiled. "Max is sweet, but I love _you_." This time, the young man's smile came more easily.

"He's probibly out saving the world --again," Josh commented.

"Probibly," she agreed. Laura put her arms around Josh's neck and pressed her lips to his.

Josh relaxed into the kiss. In the back of his mind, he wondered just what Laura would say if she knew that he --Josh McGrath-- was also the super agent, Max Steel.

*~*~*

It was hours later before the party was over. Josh and Laura said goodbye to their guests before turning to the task of cleaning up. Between the two of them, the work was done within a couple of hours. Then, the couple went into the living room and sat together on the sofa.

"Laura," Josh began.

"Hmm...?" Laura snuggled close to him.

"Why don't you move in with me? I've got plenty of room, if you don't want to share a bedroom."

Laura looked at her boyfriend quizingly. He had _never_ made such a suggestion before. Why now?

"Think about it, at least," he whispered in her ear.

*~*~*

"Max! He's getting away!" Berto warned in Max Steel's ear. The young super-agent chased the would-be terriorist over the rooftops of the city of Del Oro Bay. Max and his partner, Cat, had easily busted up the man's effort to hold the city for ransom, so the villian had taken a small child has hostage and was now trying to escape with her. Max pursued him over the roofs, while Cat tracked from the street.

"I know, bro!" Max replied. "But he's got a hostage! I gotta do this nice and easy!"

"Why not just hit 'Stealth Mode' and do it 'The Max Steel Way'?" Berto retorted.

"Might as well try it," Max shot back. He hit a small button on his Bio-Link. Instantly, he seemed to disappear.

The terriorist turned back, and was surprised to see that his pursuer had vanished. Had the agent given up?

"Quiet!" he growled to the crying child in his arms. "Or I'll drop you off this roof!"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, then the terriorist felt a punch to his face. The villian fell to the tarred roof, unconcious. Strong hands had caught the girl before she even hit the surface of the building's top. A press of a button and Max reappeared.

"I don't like people who threaten kids!" Max glared at his fallen foe. Then, he turned his attention to crying girl.

"It's okay, honey," he whispered gently, trying to sooth her tears. He held her close and let her cry on his shoulder.

_Poor kid,_ he thought. _When her class went to visit the musuem today, she didn't expect to be kidnapped and threatened by some terriorist with a huge grudge against Del Oro Bay._

Cat climbed up on the roof from the fire escape. She looked from Max and the little girl, then at the felled villian, then back at Max.

"I don't know _how_ you did it; I don't _wanna_ know how you did it..." she shook her head and knelt down to tie the criminal's hands and feet. Max grinned as Cat hefted the terriorist onto her shoulders.

"You take care of her," Cat nodded toward the girl. "_I'll_ see that the police takes care of _him_". This time, she nodded at the man over her shoulder.

"Right," Max smiled. He lifted the little girl in his arms and carried her into the building.

"Come on, sweetie," Max smiled at the child. "Let's get you to your mommy and daddy.

*~*~*

Max and Cat emerged from the building with their burdens. Carefully, gently, Max handed the little girl over to her mother, and turned to shake the father's hand. Cat dumped her prisoner on the asphalt in front of the police. The officers quickly placed him in the squad car and drove off. Then both agents made a hasty retreat before the reporters arrived.

"You make the report on this one," Max said, when they were far enough away. They ducked into a nearby alley, where Max transformed into Josh. "Josh has a date with Laura."

"Okay," Cat replied. "See ya later." She walked off into the shadows.

Josh walked to where his car was parked and lept into the driver's seat. Flipping a switch, the blue _Shadow_ --Max's car-- changed into Josh's red car. He drove away to pick up Laura for their date.

*~*~*

"That was wonderful, Josh," Laura lifted her arms and put them around her boyfriend's neck.

"I thought you would like that Chinese place," Josh smiled.

"Because _I'm_..." she began, looking suspiciously into his eyes.

"No. Because they have great food," he smiled back. They had just arrived at Josh's beach house, and were about to go in.

Laura pulled him close and kissed him firmly on the lips. Then, she hugged him and held him close. It was such a beautiful evening. And the dinner _was_ wonderful, although she wondered about the fortune that was in her fortune cookie:

_A great secret you will soon learn. Be patiant, and understanding, and, most of all, forgiving._

_What "great secret"?_ she wondered. _Something to do with Josh?_

"Come on," Josh smiled, disengaging her from his neck. "Let's go inside." Together, the young collage student and his girlfriend entered the house.

*~*~*

Fifteen minutes later, Josh and Laura were curled up on the sofa together, just plain old making out. Laura's hand moved down his left arm. Before her hand got to the wrist, it found the band he wore. In the heat of the moment, Laura didn't notice when she pressed a button and it expanded into a wide band with buttons. Then, her fingers found a certain button on the band...

Laura pulled away and stared in amazement as blond-haired Josh McGrath transformed into brown-haired Max Steel right before her eyes.

"J...J...Josh!" she gasped, still stunned. "Y...y...your...Max?"

Max whirled his head to look in a nearby mirror. His eyes went wide as understanding of what this meant sunk into his mind.

Laura had just witnessed Josh turning into Max, and there was no way for him to deny it.

"Well, Laura," Max began. "It's like this...

* * *

Chapter 2: The Accident.

   [1]: mailto:jmontgomery@glasgow-ky.com



	2. The Accident

Team Steel Extreme!  
Chapter 2: The Accident

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By: [Jo Ann/Titaina Steel][1]

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Disclaimer: Max Steel and other characters belong to Mattel, Sony, KidsWB, and others. Titaina Steel is mine. Thanks go to Maxy Steel for the malfunction idea and help on some of the dialouge. The first part of the Jeff-Max talk is hers.

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"This is _my_ world, Laura," Max said as he led Laura Chen through the secret, hidden world of the _real_ N-Tek. Outside, N-Tek was just another sports company. But underneth it all was a vast, underground complex designed to twart the plans of the world's terriorists.

"Max," Cat hissed. "Are you crazy?!? What is _she_ doing here!?!

"I found out that my boyfriend, Josh McGrath was also Max Steel," Laura answered, eyeing Cat. "Berto?" she gasped as Dr. Martinez came up.

"Hola, Laura," the Spanish teen greeted her. He turned to Max. "Smith wants to see you. Part of it is something about Laura being here..."

"Oh, man!" Max visiblely slumped. He slowly walked to Jefferson Smith's office, dreading the meeting with his boss --and Josh's father.

"Now," Cat said, looking Laura up and down. "What are we going to do with you?"

*~*~*

Max stood in front of Jefferson Smith's desk, feeling all the world like a schoolboy standing in front of the principal. He waited for his boss/father to give him his full attention. When the older man did, Max wished that this part was all over with.

"I can explain this..." Max began.

"I'm waiting," Jeff eyed his son carefully.

"Well, Laura and I were starting to do something you would have gotten _reallyy_ mad at me for, and she hit the transform button." Max watched his father for a reaction, hoping it would not be explosive.

"And she witnessed Josh becoming Max."

"Yeah. She did."

"And you told her _everything_."

"Yeah." At the look his father gave him, Max continued, "I didn't have much choice. How was I going to explain being Josh McGrath one second, and Max Steel the next?"

Jefferson Smith let out an even, but exasperated breath. He knew that Max would not reveal N-Tek secrets to anyone unless he felt for certain that Max could trust the one he told. And Max _had_ been put in an almost inescapible position. There was no way in Heaven or on Earth that Max could explain the transformation without explaining about N-Tek. He could not even _lie_ his way out of it. Under the circumstances, Max did the _only_ thing he could.

"We'll have to address this problem later, Max. Right now, you and Cat have an assignment in Toyko..."

Max listened as his boss/father continued with the details of the assignment, gratefull --and relieved-- that the problem with Laura and N-Tek had been shelved for the time being. Maybe a solution would come to them later.

*~*~*

While Max and Cat were on their way to Toyko, Jefferson Smith was talking with Laura. Racheal would monitor Max, while Berto went to check on the Transphasic Energy Chamber. Every so often, a diagnostics test would be run on the important piece of equipment, and it was _way_ overdue for a check-up. And what if something went wrong with the Chamber, and Max came in and _needed_ a dose of "T-Juice" --as they called the Tranphasic Energy-- ?

Berto flipped the switches on the generator and began taking readings. To his astonishment and concern, the readings were off, even strange.

_I'd better fix this,_ the young scientist thought. _No telling _when_ they're going to get back._ He left the room for his tools.

*~*~*

"Max!" Laura gasped, as Cat and Charles "Chuck" Marshak carried Max into the underground complex.

"The assignment had him running all over the place, and he was 'Going Turbo' constantly," Cat answered. "He's completly drained! We've got to get him to the Transphasic Engery Chamber --and fast!" Cat and Marshak continued on to the "T-Juice Chamber".

"'Transphasic Energy?'" Laura asked, looking worriedly at Jeff.

"It's the energy that his Max Probes run on, like normal humans run on food," Jeff explained. "Without it, the probes literaly _starve_ to death, taking Max --Josh-- with them."

"Oh, no!" Laura gasped. She could not lose him. Not now.

*~*~*

Cat and Marshak lowered Max into the chair in the Transphasic Chamber, and strapped him in. Berto was not there, so Cat turned the generator on. The huge rings whirled around Max, going faster and faster, until they were a blur. As they spun, they began to glow with yellow energy, building in power, until finally a beam of yellow energy fell from the sky, bathing Max in its power.

Berto rushed in at that moment, his tool box in his hand.

"What's going on?!" he shouted. He saw Max in his chair, and the generator on.

"Max needed a recharge," Cat said simply. She and the others were watching Max's recharge from the safety of the protective room high overhead. "What's the big deal?"

"The generator isn't working right!" Berto shot back. "The diagnostic readings were strangely off. I just went for my tools to fix it!"

Berto, Cat, Jeff, Laura, and Marshak watched in horror as the beam switched from yellow to green and back to yellow again several times. As the engery built, the generator started to give off a grinding sound. Then, before anyone could react, the generator exploded.

"Max!" the assembled crowd screamed together. In an instant, Cat and Marshak was down the stairs and in the chamber, unstrapping Max from the chair and hauling him through the door and down to the medbay.

*~*~*

Laura, Cat, Jeff, and Marshak waited outside the medbay as Berto and Dr. Anne Marx examined Max for injuries. Jeff spoke with Laura about the secerecy of N-Tek, more to kill time and keep his mind off of what had happened to Max than to ensure the safety of N-Tek's secrets.

"You _do_ understand that you can't tell _anyone_ about this, don't you? Our operation depends on the upmost secrecy. If _any_ of this ever gets out, our enemies could destroy all the good we do," he told her.

"Yes, I know. I...I...won't tell a soul," she whispered softly, her attention on the condition of her boyfriend than on the dark-skinned man speaking with her.

Berto came out of the medbay, concern in his dark eyes.

"How is he?" Jeff was the first to speak.

"Physically, he's uninjured," the Spanish youth replied, "but there's something in the probes --something I don't understand..."

"What happened?" Jeff asked.

"I'm still studing the readings. They don't make any sence. We may _never_ know what really happened. But it's already had _one_ effect on Max."

"What?" Laura asked.

"The accident in the Transphasic Energy Chamber caused a shift in the probes. Best way I can describe it is that the probes found something wrong, and decided that the best course of action was to blow out one of his abilities. They chose the least --at least, in _their_ opinion-- needed power, and eliminated that to save the rest of him."

"And that power was..." Cat encouraged him to go on.

Berto hesitated, but decided to continue. He pushed his glasses up on his nose as he dropped the bombshell.

"His ability to transform between Josh McGrath and Max Steel. Until we find a way to fix this --if ever-- he is permenantly Max Steel. He may never again be Josh McGrath."

Those in the waiting room looked at each other in disbelief. Josh --gone? And only Max to serve as proof that Josh had ever been there in the first place?

Could things possibly get any worse?

Chapter 3: Enter: Titaina Steel

   [1]: mailto:jmontgomery@glasgow-ky.com



	3. Enter: Titaina Steel

Team Steel Extreme!  
Chapter 3: Enter: Titaina Steel

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By: [Jo Ann/Titaina Steel][1]

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Disclaimer: Max Steel and other characters belong to Mattel, Sony, KidsWB, and others. Titaina Steel is mine.

* * *

"What was that again, bro?" Max asked Berto. The young super-agent sat up in his bed in the medbay.

"You're stuck as Max Steel," his friend repeated, for what felt like the hundreth time. "The probes decided to sacrifice _one_ power to save the _rest_ of you."

"Couldn't they have let _me_ decide on which power?" It was half-serious, half-joking, and Berto was not sure in which tone he should answer Max's enquiry. The young scientist settled on a simple answer.

"They didn't have time to ask, Max."

"So, it's 'Good-bye, Josh', and 'Hello, Max' full time, now." It was not a question.

"Until we find a way to reverse it, which may be never. I've never seen any readings like what I got from the generator."

"How's Laura taking it?"

"As well as can be expected. She said something about asking me for something, though. That kind of worries me, hermano. Any ideas what it might be that she wants?"

"Not a clue, bro," Max answered. "Not a clue."

*~*~*

Outside the medbay, Laura thought about what she wanted to ask Berto.

_Are you sure of this, Laura?_ her mind asked.

_Yes, I'm sure,_ she answered back. _I want to always be near Josh --Max-- and this is the only way, now. While he could change into Josh McGrath, there was always the chance that I could be Josh's future wife. Mrs. Josh McGrath. Laura Chen McGrath. "Max Steel" would by Josh's secret agent friend, and I would treat the two as seperate men._

_But that is no longer possible,_ her subconcious reminded her. _The two are now one, and the one is Max Steel, not Josh McGrath._

_Josh or Max, he's _still_ the man I love. I _will_ share his life. Even if it means giving up my own!_

With those thoughts, Laura waited for Berto to reemerge from the medbay. There was something important she had to discuss with him. Something _very_ important.

*~*~*

"You want me to do _**WHAT**_?!?" Berto exclaimed. He looked at Laura as if she were crazy. He had hardly believed it when she asked him the _first_ time.

"Make me like Max," she said quietly. "Please," she added politely. She was dead serious.

"Laura, do you _know_ what you are getting into? You saw what happened to Max. And he has to sit in that chair _every_ day!"

"Feeding the Max Probes; yes, I know the risks. I _still_ want to go through with it."

"It's also irriversible. Once 'Maximized', you can't go back. You'll have the Max Probes in your body until you die. Also, you'll --as well as Max-- will pass the probes on to your offspring."

"I understand all that. And I'm prepared to take the chance. Please, Berto! I want this --more than anything! Make me into what Max is!"

Berto looked into Laura's pleading eyes. She was willing to risk _so_ much for Max --even changing herself forever, if that was what it took to be with the one she loved so much. How many others would face such risks for someone they cared for?

"Alright," he sighed. "Seeing as I can't change your mind about this, we might as well get started." He gestured toward the table that stood in the middle of his lab.

"Thank you, Berto!" Laura smiled. She brushed a quick kiss to his cheek and gave him a small hug, than hopped on top of the table and laid down. Berto pushed his glasses up on his nose to concel a blush. Then he turned toward his intruments. Taking a vial of Max Probes in suspention fluid, he began to fill a hypodermic syringe with the green liquid.

"As long as you are aware of the risks..." Berto sighed as he stuck the needle into Laura's arm.

*~*~*

"Okay, bro," Max said, when the rest of Team Steel was assembled in the confrence room. "What's this 'surprise' you're wanting to show us?" Beside of Max was Jefferson Smith. Dr. Anne Marx stood next to Cat.

"Well," Berto began. "First off: She _begged_ me to do it, so don't blame me."

"'Blame you'?" Cat asked. "Blame you for what?"

"Err...you'll see...," Berto replied nerviously. To someone waiting in the shadows, he said, "Come on out."

The figure emerged. Dressed in a standard N-Tek jumpsuit was a young, dark-haired woman everyone recognized.

"Laura! What...?" Max stamered.

"Laura Chen is no longer here," the woman answered. "I am --now and forever-- Titaina Steel!"

* * *

Chapter 4: Training

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   [1]: mailto:jmontgomery@glasgow-ky.com



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